Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for rocking with me on this fine Friday morning.
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Let’s get right to it.
Yo. Pyer. You wanna come out here?
(Photo by Project 290 on Unsplash)
Kerby Jean-Raymond is easily one of the most brilliant and creative minds the fashion and design world has.
And now he’s all-in at Reebok. You probably recognize him from the work he’s done with the brand before — Jean-Raymond’s Pyer Moss brand has been a frequent collaborator with Reebok over the last four years or so.
But this isn’t a one-off partnership. He’s there in a full capacity with the fancy new title of the Vice President of Creative Direction.
In his new, executive role he’ll be putting his stamp on everything Reebok does design wise. The first products under his creative direction drop in 2022, per Footwear News.
That’s not even the most important part. He’ll also be the brain behind the brand’s new anti-racism program “Product with Purpose” launching in 2021.
That’s a big deal. We’ve talked at length about how the sneaker industry, for so long, has always pulled from Black culture without giving much back in return. This is a seat at the table.
And it’s not a seat at the table for any old Black executive — it’s one for Kerby Jean-Raymond. Blackness is what makes his art what it is. He explains it briefly here in an interview with Footwear News’ Sheena Butler-Young.
Here’s the money quote:
“I’m not speaking to anyone besides [Black people]. I’m not making work for white consumption. And that’s not to say “I don’t fuck with white people.” I love everybody. But it’s like, if I did that I’d be doing that miss I told you earlier. I can’t speak to a community that I don’t know.”
It’s the community Kerby speaks to that has been pillaged by all sectors of the fashion industry for so long and that’s why having his voice in a room is so essential. His design, his artistry and his decision making is based on Black perspective in a ways that the industry just hasn’t had before.
That’s an amazing thing. And it’s going to change what Reebok looks like once it gets going. Quite frankly, I can’t wait to see it.
From a GOAT to a Unicorn
(Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash)
The competition for the best platform in the aftermarket is about to get a little stiffer. GOAT is steadily climbing.
The company just hit unicorn status last week after getting a new $100 million infusion of cash in Series E funding from D1 Capital Partners, per Tech Crunch. This continues a fantastic two-year stretch for the aftermarket platform.
In 2018 they acquire Flight Club after another $60 million raise in funding and get their first brick and mortar presence.
In 2019 just about a year later Foot Locker invests another $100 million in funding to the company expanding their physical reach.
In 2020 they finally become a unicorn.
They’ll use their new funding to figure out ways to expand their reach internationally while doubling down on research and development. The app just hit China in July of last year, so expect some expansion on that in the immediate future.
StockX is still the aftermarket leader by far. It’s the more widely used platform with a billion dollar gross merchandise value in total, but GOAT is carving out its own niche well here — particularly in the sneaker space. That’s why investments from Foot Locker and the acquisition of Flight Club make so much sense.
In the big picture, though, we’re seeing the aftermarket of all things blow up before our very own eyes. This ain’t a subculture anymore. It’s hard to see scenarios where these massive sneaker market projections for the future don’t come to be.
The hype is driving these massive numbers. I just hope, somewhere along the way, it becomes a better future for the culture, too.
A look at the absurdity of apparel deals
Matt Brown, the author of Extra Points (SUBSCRIBE) — a brilliant newsletter on the business of college sports, scooped up some apparel contracts brands have with schools across the country and some of these incentives are fascinating.
Here’s one example, courtesy of mid-major Stephen F. Austin:
In Stephen F. Austin’s UA contract, if the men’s basketball team makes the NCAA Tournament, UA pays the school $5,000. If the Lumberjacks make the Round of 32, then they earn $10,000. If they win the whole dang NCAA Tournament, they make $200,000.
That’s $200,000 Stephen. F. Austin will never see. Stone Cold Steve Austin might win a national title before Stephen F. Austin. That’s just not happening.
So what’s the point of these deals? Equipment, Brown writes.
Even if you’re a relatively small athletic department, you’re going to need equipment. That means balls, shoes, helmets, travel bags, gloves and more, for hundreds of athletes across a department. If you just walked down the street and bought all of that stuff from your local Dick’s Sporting Goods, it's going to cost a lot of money.
Now, think about this in the context of Under Armour’s broken deal with UCLA. This is why the school is fighting so hard to keep things in tact — it ultimately keeps equipment costs down.
Fascinating, right? This piece is well worth your time.
Somebody stop Nelly. Please.
Listen. Calling police is serious business. And it should only be done in cases of extreme emergency. Like, the last resort after the last resort.
But I’ll be damned if somebody don’t need to call the police on Nelly. This man keeps coming on Dancing with the Stars in Jordan dance shoes and he must be stopped. First, he did the Black Cement 3’s.
Then he came back and did the Space Jam 11’s!
Sorry, Nelly. You ain’t make enough hits to get this off.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW THE VIBEZ. THE KICKS. WE WEAR ‘EM.
First, the homie Muhammad RLee came through with the heat in the Rivals AJ2’s.
The homie Storm popped out in the D.O.N Issue 2’s in some SWEET colors.
The homie Adrian popped out CRAZY in the Adidas ZX4000. Yup. I’m sold.
The homie Jasmine took us all the way back with some Adidas Tubular joints post workout.
The homie Taylor jumped out in the Melody Ehsani Women’s OG J’s. STUNTING.
The homie Jaire came out with the Infared HEATERS.
We had lots of Blazer love today. The homie GoJo came through in the Ruohan Wang Blazers and my WORD these are actual art.
Then homie Josh popped out in the Off-White Halloween joints.
Then the homie Greer popped out fly as ever in these vintage ash green beauties.
The homie Moh finna hit the trail in these sick New Balance joints.
The homie Quinton took us all the way to the future in the Tie-Dye Adapt BB 2.0’s. It’s like they’re breathing!
The homie Duffie popped out in the ZO2.19’s and, DAMN, do they look great.
Then the Better Mike sent us home with this AMAZING photo of these AMAZING React Element 55’s. Good Lord.
Y’ALL. SMOKED. DAT.
Thank you so much for kicking it with your boy today! Hope you enjoyed the content, family!
Remember, subscribe if you haven’t already. We’re on the road to 2,000 and the giveaway will be here before you know it.
Until next time, family. Peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯
I'm late but finally got a chance to read this post. Can confirm Kerby a real one. He and CB from Pyer Moss were kind enough to meet w/ me and a couple homies last summer and dropped free game for like an hour. None of us are industry insiders or anything, we just cold emailed them. Still surreal and forever grateful for that. Excited to see their next moves and they really deserve all the success coming their way.
Can't wait to see what comes from Reebok!